What the hell is an Arcade Fire?
When does Reflektor come out, and on what label?
Merge Records. And: October 29th, the same day as Winona Ryder’s birthday.
Is October 29th an important day for white males, ages 20-45?
The most important day.
Why should I be excited for Reflektor?
Because it’s Arcade Fire’s first album since 2010’s The Suburbs, and Arcade Fire is great.
Well, can I listen to any of it already?
YES. Here’s the sprawling, eight-minute-long title track, which was produced by LCD Soundsystem’s James Murphy and features guest vocals from David Bowie, one of the band’s biggest fans.
Say, that’s pretty good. Much more danceable than what I expected. Any other new songs out there?
Unfortunately, no. Arcade played a “secret” show in Montreal last night, but phones were strictly forbidden, so no footage from the performance is online. All we have is Stereogum’s on-the-scene report/review:
The band took the stage at 9 p.m. wearing the costumes they had donned on the street. It was immediately clear that a few things were different about Arcade Fire. Gone was the second drum kit of their early years and the Suburbs tour. Instead, they had two additional percussionists playing a mixture of congas, timbales, wood blocks, bongos, and other instruments, adding much more rhythmic complexity and power to their sound throughout the set. There were no horn players present and Sarah Neufeld was the only devoted violinist; Owen Pallett was there, and switched between violin and keyboards. Otherwise, the band’s instrumentation consisted of guitars, drums, and synths/keys. In this way, Arcade Fire presented themselves not as barons of symphonic indie rock anthems, but as the tightest of house bands ready to provide a sweaty night of dancing tunes. That said, and as anyone should expect, their anthemic choruses still crept in between the beats. (Via)
At no point did they call themselves Arcade Fire; they were the Reflektors.
Was the show why I kept hearing about 9/9/9?
Sort of. Yesterday, September 9th, at 9 p.m., the “Reflektor” single went on sale at record stores worldwide.
Is that faceless rainbow design the cover of the album?
Their Reflektors alter-ego will be dropped by then. Here’s the real artwork:
Do I see…*giggles*?
Yes, that’s a penis. Grow up, man. C’MON.
*mumbles something under breath* Is there anything else I should know?
It’s gonna be a double album, with 13 tracks spread over two CDs. You can preorder it now.
What if I don’t want to preorder?
Korn’s Paradigm Shift also comes out in October. Enjoy!
